Matthew Twomey says he had to step away from the Cork senior camogie team as the strain and pressure of inter-county management took its toll.
Twomey announced his departure earlier this week having steered Cork to All-Ireland glory in August.
He took the reins in November 2021 on a two-year term, succeeding legendary four-time All-Ireland-winning boss Paudie Murray. Cork reached the league and All-Ireland finals in 2022 but lost to Galway and Kilkenny respectively in those deciders.
The pain of those disappointments helped to drive them past Waterford in this year's All-Ireland final, and Twomey admits it was a heart-wrenching decision to leave such a talented group.
"Originally I got the two-year term and my thought process was to see out the two years," he told RTÉ 2fm's Game On.
"I've been managing for two years but I've been involved in the background for another four years as well on top of it.
"When I make a decision to get involved in something I know myself there's a lot of sacrifices there.
"It was a very hard decision in a sporting sense. I'm leaving probably the most lethal team I've ever been involved with. That side of things was hard, but on a personal level it was an easy decision to make."
Twomey expanded on the enormous dedication required to manage an inter-county team these days, adding: "You have to miss out on stuff, but unfortunately that affects everyone around you as well. I was putting pressure on myself here, with my kids and all that.
"Paudie Murray lasted ten years, I don't know how he did it. And he kept all his hair as well - that was my problem!
"There was one day I was on the phone from quarter past six to quarter past 12. There was 23 calls trying to sort out stuff. That kind of stuff is taxing, especially when it's very avoidable.
"They're the sore parts of it, but going training, the matches, the excitement and all that is off the wall. It's the extra stuff people don't see or realise, it's very taxing.
"I just found it very, very hard, especially this year."
Nonetheless, he leaves with some golden memories and plenty of praise ringing in his ears.
"After we played Galway in Athenry every game after that was a knockout so we were under fierce pressure," he said when reflecting on the championship season.
"It just worked out well in the end, but that was more the grace of God than anything we were doing I suppose.
"I'm lucky. I've a great relationship with [the players]. But look, that's the way it goes. I'm just hoping they get someone in as soon as possible now and try to keep this thing going. The talent is there. What's coming through form the minors and Under-16s and all that with Cork is huge.
"It's in as good a position as I got it and that's all I was hoping for, that my legacy when I left [would be] that I didn't leave it in a bad place."
